SA-23E Mitchell-Hyundyne Starfury
=Description= The SA-23 Aurora Starfury has been the standard space fighter for all Earth Alliance Space-borne Forces since before the war between the humans and the Minbari. At that time it was one of the most advanced fighter designed and only the fighters of the First Ones, Minbari, and the Centauri. Until the introduction of the SA-26 Thunderbolt Starfury it remained one of the most advanced fighters although had been updated and was on the SA-23E model. Unfortunately, it was not able to fight the Minbari fighters on anything approaching equal combat. Interestingly, this means that there are far fewer of the older models remain because most of them we destroyed during the Earth / Minbari war. Several variants of the SA-23 exist. The guns on older models inflict less damage and is slightly slower. A common variant is the SA-23H which has four hard points to carry missiles. The ability to carry missiles is standard with the new SA-26 Thunderbolt Starfury. Another version, flown by the Black Omega Squadron, have advanced stealth features (although no where near as advanced as those carried on the Minbari fighters). The position of the pilot is unusual in comparison to modern aircraft. Instead of being seated, the pilot is in almost a standing position. This is not an extreme problem because the pilot will normally be weightless and the cockpit is designed to relive stress from acceleration since the Earthforce has not developed any form of inertial dampening. The controls of the fighter are very responsive and are operated by a combination of hand, foot, and voice-activated controls. For a Space Fighter for the younger races (with the exception of the Minbari and the Centauri), The SA-23E Aurora Star Fury is well armed. The fighters beam weaponry are four linked pulse cannons. These cannons are used for dogfighting and against capital ships although it takes a large number of fighter runs to do significant damage. This is the reason why the H Version of the Aurora was developed, as it has four missile hard points under its upper wings, which places the missiles in line with the Starfuries center of gravity and makes targeting easier. The SA-23 Aurora Starfury also has a special grappling claw that allows the fighter to grab objects in space. The fighter is powered by fusion batteries that while they give good performance have a very limited endurance. The newer Thunderbolt has a much greater endurance. The Aurora star fury is very maneuverable due to the fact the engines are widely separated. The only real weakness compared to some of the fighters of other younger races is that the fighter cannot be used in an atmosphere. =Special Equipment - All= Grapple Claw The Aurora Starfighter has a grapple claw that is used for docking with vehicles that do not have landing bays and to grab items. The Grapple Claw has a breaking strain of 100 tons. *Maximum Effective Range - 30 feet (9.1 meters) *Mega Damage - None (SDC Targets will take 1D4x10 SDC) *Rate of Fire - Once per four melees rounds *Payload - 1 shot but may be retracted and used again =Special Equipment - Black Omega Version only= Stealth Feature The Black Omega version of the SA-23 Aurora Starfury has advanced stealth feature and has a -50% to be detected because of its stealth. These Stealth Features work on Earthforce, Narn, Drazi, and other members of the less advanced younger races. The Stealth Systems do not work on First Ones sensors or the sensors of the Minbari, Vree, Centauri, or the Drahk. =COMBAT BONUSES= The SA-23 Aurora Starfury is very maneuverable and very accurate. Use the Phase World Starfighter combat (Elite or Basic) skill with no additional vehicle bonuses (Pilots skills and statistics still add. to bonuses). =References= Notes Sources Category:Babylon 5 Category:Earth Forces